Silent movie The Artist topped the winners at the Golden Globes awards, adding three gongs to its growing haul of prizes in the run-up to the all-important Oscars next month.
We thought it would be a movie for the festivals, a film for critics ... but not this. We didn’t expect this- The Artist's director
The French-directed movie won best musical/comedy, best musical/comedy actor and best musical score, one more than family drama The Descendants which won two including best drama picture and best actor for George Clooney.
“We thought it would be a movie for the festivals, a film for critics ... but not this. We didn’t expect this,” said director Michel Hazanavicius, after being joined onstage by the movie’s trick-performing dog star, Uggie.
Meryl Streep won best actress for her mesmerising portrayal of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, while best director went to Martin Scorsese for his 3D adventure Hugo.
There was disappointment for civil rights movie The Help, nominated for five awards but winning only one, as well as Brad Pitt’s baseball-themed Moneyball and Mr Clooney’s political thriller The Ides of March.
Each had four nods but went home empty-handed.
But Mr Clooney won big with The Descendants, a Hawaii-based family drama which took the top prize at Hollywood’s main pre-Oscars awards show, as well as best actor.
“Our quarterback was George Clooney,” said The Descendants producer Jim Burke, accepting the award at the climax of the three-hour Globes show at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.
The movie missed out in the screenplay category to Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, was beaten for supporting actress by Octavia Spencer in The Help, and best director where Mr Scorsese won for Hugo.
Other winners on Sunday night included Michelle Williams as best actress in a musical or comedy for her Monroe turn in My Week With Marilyn, and best supporting actor for Christopher Plummer in Beginners.
Best animated feature went to Mr Spielberg’s big screen version of the Belgian cartoon book hero, The Adventures of Tintin.
Best foreign language movie went to A Separation from Iran, which beat films from China and Belgium as well Spanish Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In, and Angelina Jolie’s directoral debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey.
The Artist’s first prize of the night was for best original score, for Ludovic Bource, who apologised, saying “I’m sorry, I’m French,” before pulling out a piece of paper and reading his acceptance speech.
Taking up the theme Madonna, who won best original song a short time later, appeared to forget her words initially, saying: “This is a surprise,” before adding, after a pause: “I’m not French, I have no excuse.”
British comic Ricky Gervais, hosting for the third straight year despite ruffling feathers at last year’s show, was again on provocative form although perhaps not quite as near-the-bone as 12 months ago.
“It’s just like the Oscars without the esteem,” he said, adding: “The Golden Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton” to groans from the star-studded audience.
Among television winners were Kate Winslet as best actress in a miniseries or movie in Mildred Pierce, Idris Elba as best actor in a miniseries or movie in Luther, Laura Dern as comedy or musical actress in Enlightened, Kelsey Grammer as dramatic actor in Boss, Homeland for drama series and Downton Abbey for miniseries or movie.